Jan 28 Album Review: Ty Segall's "Ty Segall"

While listening to the second self-titled album from the already proven talent of Ty Segall, I find myself thinking, “Oh! This is good.” Seems simple enough; however, the complexity of the experience that is necessary to initiate that type of a response will take some explaining. Ty Segall sits on the precipice of perfect distortion and grit. It is fun and easy to get lost in. This album takes me on a road trip with friends: we are in a van, the windows are down, and we are all in anticipation of the excitement and entertainment we are about to embark on.

“Break A Guitar” starts us off with a head bobbing garage syncopation and urges us to sing along. It is perfect foreplay for what is about to transpire. The second track, “Freedom,” has a quick pick-up-and-go nature. The dueling guitars eat up the air with hardened key changes. The refrain gets the heart pumping and you want to get up and make a thing of it.

Considering the attitude in the beginning of the album, we assume that Segall and his band have some things to say. “Warm Hands (Freedom Returned)” is an elegant arrangement of emotion. Fast changes and rough break chorus feeds the fire, then a decrescendo during the instrumental break gives us a moment to catch our breath just long enough for the musicians to round one more time. “Talkin'” flips us completely. The swing beat and guitar give us a country western tale. I am not sure if it was necessary to slow things down to an almost crawl in order to progress the album. However, the guitar solo and harmonizing almost cleanses the pallet.

Segallis back at it real quick though with “The Only One.” This ballad has a deep hurt feeling, beautifully illustrated by the lead’s solo and arpeggiated melodies. The album then presents us with “Thank You Mr. K,” a super fueled illustration of the band’s ability to thrash. I instantly want to break something. I am definitely a huge fan of what I feel is this album's flagship song, “Orange Color Queen.” The progression, the break down, the vocals, and lyrics are exactly what I want to hear when I listen toSegall.

Left with only a few songs, Ty Segall ends on a pleasant march that reminds me of that road trip. “Papers” bates me to roll down the window and surf my hand in the wind, as “Take Care” fills my head with thoughts of the sun shining through the trees down on my face. Though the album has come to a close, we hear those same strong remnants from the lead, those same amazing solos that were prevalent track by track, and powerful lyrics that we have come to expect from the accomplished Ty Segall.